Marques

JD Classics – one of the world’s leading classic car racing and restoration businesses –  has launched its very own five-speed all-synchromesh gearbox for classic Jaguars. Designed by a team of JD Classics’ expert technicians and a well-respected motorsport engineering company, the gearbox is available to order now. Engineered with synchromesh on all ratios, helical cut gears and a reinforced aluminium cast casing, it is capable of handling up to 400hp and 350 ft/lb of torque.

Ahead of the Range Rover Velar arriving in showrooms, retail sales for Jaguar Land Rover reached 51,591 vehicles this month, up 11.0% on June 2016. Retail sales for the quarter totaled 137,463 vehicles, up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Retail sales for June were up year-on-year in China (65.3%), the UK (3.8%), Europe (3.7%) and North America (3.2%) whilst sales in Overseas markets were down 8.5%, due to challenging conditions in emerging markets such as Brazil, the Middle East and Russia.

British sports car manufacturer, Caterham, celebrated 60 years of its revered Seven by bringing together some of the most esteemed examples in its history. Powering around the twists and turns of the Longcross test track was the original Lotus Seven Series 1. Reaching a top speed of 78mph and featuring a Ford 100E engine and aluminum bodywork, the Series 1 was the ideal, lightweight sports car when it was launched by Colin Chapman in 1957.

Making its global dynamic debut among the most powerful and extreme performance cars in the world at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, the new Jaguar XE SV Project 8 claimed the hotly-contested Michelin Supercar Paddock Showstopper Trophy – just four days after the car was officially unveiled. As the only four-door car in the Michelin Supercar Run, the Jaguar vehicle faced formidable competition in the 50-car paddock, but voters in an online poll hosted by Michelin UK singled out Project 8 as one of the six most popular cars of the weekend, qualifying it for the overall Showstopper final on Sunday afternoon. 

From the freezing Arctic Circle to the dust and heat of Dubai, the Jaguar  E-PACE has been subjected to a diverse testing programs, ensuring it is not only a driver’s car but a dynamic and entertaining performance SUV too. Jaguar unleashed hell* and high water** to ensure that E-PACE worked on all surfaces and in all weathers. More than 150 prototypes were built during a grueling 25-month test program which took place across four continents to ensure not only extreme durability but that the vehicle lives up to the Art of Performance philosophy.

Our Video of the Week this go round is a fun one.  It comes from the folks at MINI, but focusses more on the love of the classic Mini. Plant Oxford employee Mike Darley’s passion for MINI started as a child. Learn about his Classic Mini restoration project and how working at MINI is a lifestyle.

With the 2017 18-day, 4000-mile ‘Jaguar XK Club Round Britain Coastal Tour, supporting Prostate Cancer UK’ completed, the 100+ classic XKs involved and their crews can now take a rest and reflect on a very successful event. The main aim of this unique event was to raise funds and awareness of this cancer which kills a man in the UK every 45 minutes. The fund-raising target was £50,000 and this has now been exceeded.

It has been described as ‘the most important Aston Martin ever produced’. And in August this 1956 DBR1 could also become the most expensive British car ever when it goes under the hammer at one of the year’s biggest auctions. It will be sold at RM Sotheby’s flagship Monterey sale taking place on August 18 and 19 during the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance motoring week in the US.

BMW will decide whether to build its new electric Mini car in Britain or elsewhere by the end of September, its board member for sales told Reuters, in a test of the country’s ability to continue to attract investment as it leaves the EU. Mini makes around 70 percent of its approximately 360,000 compact cars at its Oxford plant in southern England but the car industry is concerned about the effect any loss of unfettered access to the EU, its largest export market, could have on plants after Brexit.

At the Geneva Motor Show in March 2016, Rolls-Royce presented a truly transformative moment on the luxury landscape – the introduction of a permanent Bespoke family of motor cars called Black Badge, designed in response to the differing lifestyle requirements of a younger, more dynamic patron of luxury. Since its introduction, Black Badge has done much to attract a new generation of Rolls-Royce customers to the marque. As a result of overwhelmingly positive customer demand for Ghost Black Badge and Wraith Black Badge, the time is now right to add a new chapter to the Black Badge story.

Jaguar Land Rover Special Vehicle Operations (SVO) has revealed the most powerful, agile and extreme performance Jaguar road car ever – the 200mph, 600PS XE SV Project 8 sedan. The second Collector’s Edition by SVO, following the successful F-TYPE Project 7 of 2014, Project 8 is a hand-built four-door sedan with supercar performance – designed to thrill driving enthusiasts, with an extraordinary combination of explosive power, dynamic agility, and all-wheel-drive traction. To ensure exclusivity, no more than 300 examples will be created, each assembled at SVO’s Technical Centre in Coventry.

British sports car and supercar manufacturer, McLaren Automotive, today announces yet another record-breaking year in respect of vehicle sales, profitability, and financial performance. Profit before tax of £9.2M from an annual sales revenue of £649.8M in 2016 gave McLaren Automotive a fourth consecutive year of profitability in only six years, since the start of sales in 2011.  This was an increase in profitability before tax of 70% compared to the £5.4M reported in 2015.

Aston Martin’s wildest-ever car – the track-only Aston Martin Vulcan – has been taken to breathtaking new extremes with a performance upgrade package developed by the luxury marque’s new performance brand, AMR. Making its public debut at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, the Aston Martin Vulcan AMR Pro sports extensive aerodynamic enhancements and shortened gearing to produce increased downforce, greater responsiveness and reduced lap times – improvements that underline its status as one of the world’s most extreme and exclusive track cars. Built in a strictly limited run of just 24 cars and delivered to customers throughout 2016, the 820BHP Aston Martin Vulcan was conceived and engineered to deliver the excitement and exceed the performance of Aston Martin’s Le Mans-winning race cars. Over the last two years, Aston Martin Vulcan owners have received step-by-step driver training by Aston Martin’s expert […]

UK automotive magazine Auto Express is the latest publication to recognize the new Land Rover Discovery, awarding it the coveted ‘Car of the Year’ title at its awards ceremony in London last night. Recognized for its unique blend of practicality, versatility, refinement and off-road credentials, this latest accolade celebrates the evolution of the Discovery lineage. Jeremy Hicks, Managing Director, Jaguar Land Rover, said: The latest Land Rover Discovery is a real step up in terms of technology, design and capability from its predecessor. It’s the ultimate expression of Land Rover’s blend of ability, luxury and practicality, and we are thrilled that it is getting the recognition it deserves with this ‘Car of the Year’ title.

The Jaguar XE has picked up its 60th major global award, winning the prestigious Auto Express Compact Executive Car of the Year title for the third year running. Before the XE’s arrival, the last time a non-German manufacturer won Auto Express’ Compact Executive title was more than a decade ago. Jaguar’s disruptive all-electric I-PACE, arriving in 2018, also picked up the Design Award, voted for by Auto Express readers.

Chinese auto maker SAIC Motor Corporation will enter the India market with its once British MG brand for which it plans to have its fully-owned car manufacturing plant in the country. The company expects to commence operations in the country by 2019 and is in the process of finalizing its manufacturing facility, SAIC Motor Corporation said in a statement. Besides, the company said, it is firming up product strategy for the market here, details of which will be announced later.

After its successful global introduction in 2016, Aston Martin’s definitive GT – the acclaimed DB11 – is now available with a 4.0-litre twin-turbocharged V8 engine. Perfectly complementing the DB11’s existing 5.2-litre twin turbocharged V12 engine, this new powerplant has provided the opportunity to reveal more of the DB11’s sporting character, while expanding its global appeal with a combination of exceptional performance and improved efficiency. Producing 510PS (503BHP) and 675Nm of torque, the V8 engine’s potency is beyond question, propelling the DB11 from 0-62mph in just 4.0sec and on to a top speed of 187mph. This exceptional performance is matched by impressive efficiency: CO2 emissions of 230g/km and an EU Combined fuel economy figure of 28.5mpg. This new V8 derivative brings further significant benefits in markets where car taxation policy is structured around engine capacity, such as China.

Our Video of the Week the go round comes by way of John Clancy of TriumphDVDs. This is a good look at the recent 2017 edition of the TR Drivers Club Bullet Run. This was the second edition of the run. TR Drivers Club Bullet Run 2017 re-tracing the old Triumph test route through the Peak District. Run in memory of David Keepax, Triumph Stylist, who sadly died in October 2016. Special guests this year are TRDC Honorary President, Harris Mann, Triumph Stylist and colleague of Dave Keepax, John Ashford and Triumph Development Engineer, David Jeanes.